Logan's Run by another name

Rating: 7/10 (12 September 2005)

I saw The Island quite recently and expected, from what I had read from other critics, to be watching a mindless summer blockbuster action movie. The critics, I am glad to say, were wrong. This is a well put together movie with something to please just about anyone looking for something more than action.
Ewan McGregor reveals a fair amount of un Hollywood humour in this movie as well as a brief glimpse into his Scottish Generation X persona. This is shown up quite well when his 'clone' or 'insurance policy' as McGregor's Tom Lincoln calls him, turns up at Tom Lincoln's posh house. Pity we never get to meet Scarlet's human being although we glimpse her too from one of the adverts that Johanssen made for a perfume company (!). Other players are good as well. Steve Buscemi is as he always is but Sean Bean is, in my opinion, a little bit too understated although he has a nice hard edge about him as the mad doctor of the piece.
The action scenes are very well realised, although I am not a big fan of hand held camera action and fast paced blink and you'll miss it filming which doesn't allow the eye to linger too much over what's going on. And my other grumble, which is typical of a lot of film makers today is the scenic helicopter swinging around on the main couple shot which has been done to death. Enough of that.
All in all, not bad at all. And McGregor looks so much happier doing this than any of the Star Wars films he was involved in.